


Vanya’s Photograph

by pacoca



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Family, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-21 07:16:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21295637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pacoca/pseuds/pacoca
Summary: The day the Umbrella Academy gets their picture taken.
Relationships: Vanya Hargreeves & Dr. Pogo
Comments: 4
Kudos: 66





	Vanya’s Photograph

They get their pictures done when they're 12. Vanya, of course, isn't present for any of them.

It stings. She can't stop herself from stomping towards the lounge and demanding to be noticed because she's a _ Hargreeves too, Dad! _There's nothing she can do though, and later she is brought into Reginald's office and he gives her a long lecture about insolence and sends her off to do a couple of hours of history work by herself. 

She is simmering with resentment, even after her father’s stern lecture and the numbness that has made itself a permanent home in her belly. It’s a cruel thing to be the one on the bottom of the ladder. Even now, Vanya isn’t sure how she lives with it. 

For once, she wishes they can understand. 

Just like always, her feelings rises and falls like an angry wave. By the end of the afternoon, the anger is gone and she has once again, resigned herself to the fate of being the _ordinary one_.

The bell rings and Vanya listens to the loud, shuffling of feet stomping across the hall until it disappears. 

She's alone. 

Pogo knocks on the door. 'Miss Vanya, might I have a moment of your time?' 

'Sure, Pogo.' She looks up from her books. Pogo walks over with an apologetic look on his face. 

'I take it your studies have you preoccupied.' 

'Yeah.' She grimaced, 'History isn't really my favourite.' 

He chuckles. 'Of course not. I'd imagine you would have a more enjoyable time studying musical theory. You've always been the creative one in the family.' 

Her face falls. 

The truth is she's never felt like she was a part of this family. The Academy functioned so well together, see. They were a _ team_, everything about them sorted meticulously and paired up to a category. And today was just another sobering reminder that Vanya was just an unnecessary, extra piece in a perfectly equal set.

She wondered sometimes, how her father felt when he adopted her, raising her alongside her powerful siblings with an expectation to be as great, only to realise that she was special in no way at all.

The old monkey seems to sense her thoughts. He purses his lips, 'Your father…. I know he can be a difficult man. And today, well…. I hope you know that whatever he does, he does with your well-being in mind.' 

'I don't know' She sighs, 'I don't… I don't think I'm ever good enough for him. I wish I could be like the others. Like he wants. Then maybe--maybe I will be.' 

'Miss Vanya…' He sighs. 

'It's stupid.' 

He pats her hand. After a beat, he looks up at her and smiles. 'Come. I want to show you something.' 

He takes Vanya's hand and she follows him out of the room, her history assignment forgotten on the table.

———

Vanya is lead through the dimly lit hallways of the Academy. 

'Where are we going?' 

'You'll see.' There's a rare, mischievous glint in his eye.

She follows him until they stop at the very same room she had been sent away from, only an hour ago.

The room is still arranged as it was before she left. There's the equipment next to the sofa, the warm, yellow light of the lamps framing the spot her siblings once stood. And the photographer is still there. 

Their mom is beside him, beaming at them with her usual, brilliant smile.

Vanya frowns, ‘Pogo what’s going on?’

'I convinced your father to let you take your own photo.’ He tells her, ‘I figured you're due for a picture of your own, if it interests you still, of course.' 

'Yes but…' She purses her lips. 'I'm not part of the Academy.' 

Only members of the Umbrella Academy get their pictures taken and their portraits hung. Only _ they _ get to be remembered.

'I'm different.' 

‘You _ are _ different.’ He smiles, ‘You are kind, and hardworking. Sometimes you can be very stubborn too.’ That gets a small smile from her. ‘But no matter how different you become, or how much time changes you, I hope this photograph will serve to remind you that this will always be your home, and we… well, we will always be your family.’

She doesn’t know what to say. 

She thinks about the fact that Pogo asked this for her, that he approached Dad and he actually _ agreed. _She thinks about how she gets to keep this one tangible thing from her childhood, that even if she is alone, she still lived under the same roof, still existed inside the same walls as the rest of them. 

And Vanya has never felt belonging with the rest of her siblings, but standing here, staring under the same lens as they did, she feels a hint of something close to it. 

And maybe thats enough for now.

'Chin up! Keep those hands still!' 

The camera shutters and the flash that follows is blinding. She sees Pogo and Mom standing behind the light, their expressions soft and proud. Her heart is warm. She lifts her chin up a little higher.


End file.
